Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-04-13
B0OMS AND BOOMERS.
How Real Estate Markets are Made
Active.
The Western wild Cat Bo0ms-- He W
They Work il at Wichita---ROck
Islands Boom.

Blooms are fashionable, and when q
thing by common usage becomes fash
ionable, it becomes cheaper; it loses its
ordinary or previous value. But there
the bottomless real estate boom that is
all the rage in the west. that Rock Island
is entering upon now Whatever Rock
Island attains in the way of material
growth the coming season, will not be
upon the strength of misleading reports,
but upon the basis of merit. 1t was
stated in last nights ARGUS that Rock
Island was not DESTROYS of obtaining any
of the fllmsy bonms which have attracted
so much attention TO western towns of
late. They are calculated to swell the
population, increase the sales of real
estate; in word, to benefit few at the
cost of many.
As an instance of the manner in
which western town. is doomed, Wichita,
which has caught quite a number OF
Rock Islanders may be given, A gen
tleman from Moline who has recently
visited Wichita gave an ARGUS reporter
few pointers last evening, as to bow
they work it in Wichita Said he;
Il was driven out one evening by
real estate agent, to inspect the way
ground WAS being broken out in the
suburbs, for new houses Ground WAS
thrown NY everywhere and cellars ap,
psrently dug confess WAS astonish-
ed at the great number OF houses COM
menCed. Thtae were pointed out to me,
as examples of the way Wichita was
growing, but it struck me little strange
that property all over that region WAS
offered inc Ivy my companion at extreme
ly low prizes. 4 few evenings after l
drove over the same territory by my
self, and imagine NV ama2ement when /
saw that the ground was just as | had
seen 1t ON mP previous visit. 1t had evil
IDENTITY not been touched since, and meet
ing pIospector like myself aud s,ran-
ger IN the city the next day. | related
my experience to him. and be told me
that be had been conducted over an ems
tirely different part of town with the same
result We came to the conclusi on that
there was not so much building IS had
been represented and that the extent of
industry in this direction ended when the
hole in tue ground was made and the dirt
thrown up on the sides. | was disguised
and CAME home. This locality is good
enough for me. and there are other Rock
Islanders out there who will be wander
ing home some day"
This exposition may serve to show some
of the shams of Kansas booms. The
ARGUS is further reliably informed that
which are published in the Kansas papers
daily are frauds. Property is ficti-
tiously sold over and over again, each
time at a sufficient reasonable advance to
indicate demand for it, and finally it
comes back TO the original owner, and 81
is all thai has been expended each time
it changed hands.
Rock Island has property for sale, and
people who come here to purchase will
not be bled hGcause the town is grow
ing. There Is public spirit behind
Rock Islands boom that will not be
sec ended to the selfish methods of spec
uiatiun- II a syndicate can be formed
to erect a suitable number of tenement
houses, it would prove profitable and
useful investment There are more peo-
pie in Roc Island today than there are
houses to accommodate them, and there
is scarcely an empty store in the city.
| Are these indications of actual boom or
not2 Rock Islands own citizens are not
aware ui how fast their city is growing